UCL Vice-Provost responds to Open Access report

20 June 2012

Implementation of the Finch Report on Open Access would "cripple university systems
with extra expense", responds Professor David Price, UCL Vice-Provost (Research).

The Report of the Working Group on Expanding Access to Published Research Findings, published yesterday, recommends that all publicly funded research should be made freely available
on an Open Access basis, and that
the traditional model — which currently sees much research locked behind a subscription
paywall — should be phased out. The report estimates that this will require the higher education sector to find
an extra £50-60 million a year to disseminate its research.

Professor Price comments: "National licences are the preferred way forward in
the immediate future for many Russell Group Universities. They exist in other
European countries. For an agreed amount, publishers allow access to their
content by all sectors in society. UCL sees this as a transition step to full
Open Access. Initial discussions suggest that the cost of national licensing
would be cheaper than the Gold OA Finch is recommending."